GCC presents 'huge opportunity' for architects

AFR's hotel at Yas Island (PHOTO: Jeff Roberts)

Oman, Qatar and Abu Dhabi present the biggest opportunities for foreign architecture firms in the wake of the financial downturn, according to Aukett Fitzroy Robinson CEO Nicholas Thompson.

In an interview with Middle East Architect, Thompson said that the governments of Qatar, Oman and neighboring Abu Dhabi all plan to increase capital spending by 10% in 2010, a figure that “represents a huge amount of potential work.”

He also said that because Qatar and Abu Dhabi were focusing on realistic developments instead of record-breaking tall towers, there was more scope for smaller-name architecture firms to get involved in projects.

“Abu Dhabi and Qatar are taking a more realistic approach – they’re trying not to have so many high buildings and not to make development so dense. This is good for consultants because it opens the market up,” Thompson said.

“When you put in an iconic high-rise building there is a feeling that because it is very tall the architect has got to be a world-renowned name, this tends to limit who can work on developments.

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AFR managing director for the Middle East, Stephen Embley, added that firms who are able to create great buildings to tighter budgets will be the real winners in the emerging markets of the region.

“I think we are used to doing that more pragmatic architecture that works for companies economically but still looks fantastic,” he said.

“There will still be the signature architects who come through and twist the towers but I think there is going to be a bigger market for the likes of us and a number of other firms.”

AFR opened a new office in Abu Dhabi in 2007 and have since been involved in a number of hospitality projects in the emirate, including developing two hotels on Yas Island for developers Aldar.

The firm was also active in the region in the 1970s and 80s, designing a number of high-profile projects on Abu Dhabi’s Corniche.

Thompson said that recent move of a number of large British firms to the Middle East was inevitable given the strength of the region’s market in comparison to the UK.

“The UK the market has slowed down quite dramatically and the financial side of projects has dried up. The obvious thing for an architecture firm to do is to follow its peer group, and many firms are moving here,” he said.